


Team Building

by Elevensins



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 08:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1772077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elevensins/pseuds/Elevensins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a team building exercise. Or was it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Team Building

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me, I don't even know where this came from. It just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.

Steve knew he’d get stuck with Tony Stark. From the moment Fury announced this team building exercise, he just knew. Sure enough, Natasha was paired with Bruce, then Clint with Thor and that left only two others. 

Tony rolled his eyes heavenward. “Seriously? Is this a team building exercise or a torture experiment?”

Steve glared at him, and Fury didn’t even acknowledge the question, moving on with the assignment. ”You’ll be dropped off in three locations. Each of you will have a different direction to go. The end of this excursion is a clearing where you’ll be picked up by helicopter. But, none of you are allowed to cheat. This means weapons stay here, armor stays here, gadgets stay here, shields stay here. You’ll each get supplies to take with you when you’re dropped at the starting area. Only pre-approved extra items you take with you will be allowed. and Bruce, do your best to contain the other guy, if you would.”

To that, Banner just shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll try?”

Fury dismissed them then, giving them half an hour to gather up anything they felt they needed. Steve just picked a change of clothing and some extra socks, along with a few essentials he wasn’t sure would be included in their supplies. Insect bite cream, specifically. He still occasionally had dreams about that one time he and Bucky went camping as kids.

He had no idea what Tony wanted to bring along with him. Whatever it was, it delayed them by ten extra minutes as Agent Hill went through his items and rejected half of them.

And it left him in a sour mood for the entire ride out to the starting area. Which continued long after they’d been dropped off. It was a Friday afternoon, late, and Steve figured they might make it a mile before sundown.

"Guess we better get going," he said. 

Tony donned his sunglasses and gestured for Steve to lead. ”Age before beauty old man.”

Steve just sighed. Tony was right, this was going to be an exercise in torture instead of team building.

Fury never revealed how far they had to hike to find the end point. Only what direction they were heading in, and that the exercise wasn’t over until either they required medical evacuation or reached the clearing where the helicopter would be waiting. He estimated it’d be at least a two day trek, and then lowered his one good eye on all of them and warned them not to cheat. 

Steve lead the way through the foliage, not entirely dense, though there was no clear path they were supposed to follow either. They located a small stream, which made it even easier to travel north as they followed it upstream. Except the more twilight set in, the more Tony began slapping at his arms. 

"Oh fabulous. Mosquitoes everywhere. I rather like my blood being right where it is, in me."

Steve smiled for the first time that evening. Mosquitoes, apparently, knew better than to try biting him. 

"Well, I’m sweeter than you are apparently," Tony said as they finally managed to secure the tent. He climbed inside of it, still slapping his arms. They had walked till it was nearly completely dark, hoping to gain a little more ground that way.

"So, did we get any food supplies?" Tony asked from inside the tent. "Or is Fury expecting us to fish and forage? If he is, you get to clean the fish. All of them."

"Well there’s some protein bars in this pocket." Steve pulled out a handful of them, tossing two of them at the tent flap. Tony’s hand slipped out, snatching both of them up and disappeared into the tent again. 

Steve shook his head, grabbed his personal bag with the change of clothing in it and climbed into the tent with him, zipping the flap shut. Tony had already unrolled his sleeping blanket, claiming his side of the tent, and a littel of Steve’s side as well.

"Gah. I’m going to itch all night tonight," he lamented as he chewed on a protein bar. "Don’t suppose there’s any hydrocortisone cream in the supplies is there?"

Steve rifled around in his back till he found the insect bite cream he’d thought to bring with him. This he held out to Tony, tapping his shoulder to get him to look and see what was being offered.

Tony glanced at it, then back up at Steve, who could see the gears turning. ”Ok, but if we have to actually fish, you still get to clean them.”

"Whatever," Steve said. Tony hesitated a moment longer, and then took the tube from him.

"I guess you’ve been camping before, then," he said as he began applying it to the numerous red welts on his arms. 

Steve grabbed his bedroll and untied the straps around it to roll it out as he answered. ”Yes, just once. Bucky and I went when we were kids. It was pretty terrible really. I ended up catching a cold, it rained most of the weekend. I remember coming home with just about everything caked with mud. Insects ate me alive, too.”

"Oh," Tony said. He’d dabbed a good bit of the ointment on his arms and was trying to reach a bite just over his shoulder.

Steve reached over and gestured for him to hand over the tube. ”Let me get it, you’ve got a row of bites right along the back of your shoulder.”

"I never did the camping thing," Tony said as he relinquished the tube and pulled the shirt over his head. "Spent most of my childhood studying anything that’d possibly get my father to pay attention to me for half a second."

Steve dabbed the insect bites, one at a time, finding the pattern of them going right up to the base of Tony’s neck. His brows furrowed a bit to hear him talking about Howard that way. ”I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that, your father—”

Tony jerked away, glaring balefully at Steve and raising his hand as if he meant to knock the tube right out of his hand. ”Don’t. Don’t even start, Cap. I don’t care that you knew my father before I was born. I don’t. He failed miserably at raising me. Your star spangled gaze of him is rosy, or do I need to remind you that you were a Capsicle during my formative years?”

Steve set the cap back on the tube and put it back into his bag, deciding it better not to comment. Tony had a kneejerk reaction to anyone remotely defending his father, and he’d tripped it. ”Sorry.”

"You damn well should be," Tony snapped. Rare form, or perhaps it was just the miserable day, miserable evening and the rash of insect bites that had him testy. "I had to listen to him prattle on about you almost every day, always trying to figure out how they made you."

Steve knew better than to rise to the bait. Sometimes, he couldn’t help himself. ”At least you had a father.”

Tony’s mouth opened, a breath drawn in, and Steve was pretty sure he was about to get blasted. But then his lips shut, forming a thin, firm line and he wagged a finger at him. ”That was below the belt. Don’t ask me to feel sorry for you, Rogers.”

"Then stop feeling sorry for yourself, Stark."

Steve didn’t wait for a reply to that either, slipping into his bedroll and turning away from the billionaire to stare at the side of the tent. Tony didn’t answer, but Steve could hear him slipping into his own bedroll, then he turned off the lantern.

It was only the first night. He could make it one more night and two more days. Hopefully.

He woke to the sound of rain pattering softly against their tent. Barely light out, as usual. Steve rarely slept in, waking usually as the sun rose. Tony was still unconscious, tangled in his bedroll and snoring loudly. Steve let him sleep, opening the tent to feel the cool morning air on his skin. 

The rain had only just started, most of the ground still dry. Grey clouds hung above the treetops, raindrops splattered into the stream down the rise from where they pitched the tent. But it tapered off to a light drizzle and then stopped all together by the time Steve had washed his hands off in the cool stream waters. 

He hadn’t lied to Tony about camping. This kind of outing he’d only ever experienced once, as a child. But the war had him and the Howling Commandos often pitching makeshift camps when necessary. There were memories of the forests in Germany, slogging through the undergrowth to find a decent enough clearing. Rations for dinner, cold bedrolls to curl up in, days of rain sometimes. 

The firepit wasn’t soaked, and Steve was able to get a small fire going. He could at least make coffee, then see what other provisions they had for cooking in the supplies Fury gave them. A little time to gather his thoughts before the whirlwind that was Tony woke up.

Fury made sure no one was going to go hungry. There were energy bars and powdered items, such as milk and eggs and various canned goods with pop tops for easy opening. Bottled water and water purification tablets. Nothing fancy, but all of it would work fine for a weekend outdoors. 

He didn’t even hear Tony. Glancing over his shoulder he finally realized the billionaire awake and staring down the rise at him from the entrance to their tent. ”Is that coffee?”

Steve held up a warm mug of it for him to take. ”It’s instant.”

"I don’t care," Tony said, then swallowed several gulps of it as he settled next to Steve on the makeshift log bench by the fire. "Ah. Sweet caffeine. What have you got cooking?"

"Eggs, re-hydrated. Protein is good." 

Tony side eyed him over the rim of his coffee mug, taking another gulp before saying anything else. “You know, for a guy who’s never camped except once, you are surprisingly good at this stuff.”

Steve shrugged his shoulders. ”You get used to it when you’re fighting Germans.”

"Ah," was all Tony could say in reply.

The clouds finally drifted away as they broke down their camp. This time Tony kept his grumbling to a minimum and they had their packs shouldered and were on the move as sunlight dappled the forest around them. Steve let Tony lead, using the compass to determine which direction the traveled. Fury told them they’d eventually find the clearing where they’d be picked up so long as they traveled in a certain direction. Clint and Thor were to travel east. Natasha and Bruce were to go West. That left Steve and Tony to keep wandering North. 

Steve could have easily traversed the terrain swiftly by himself. Probably been done by that evening, if not sooner. But Tony was not a super soldier, and moved far slower. Needing to stop every few hours to catch his breath or just rest. 

"I don’t know who thought this was a great idea, but I hope they don’t have any more brilliant ideas after." Tony said as he found a flat surface to sit on. "And look at you. Not even winded. Being a super soldier would be so nice right about now."

Steve chuckled, “It does have its advantages, yeah. You’re doing fine though.”

Tony snorted. ”Should make you carry me on your back. Bet we’d get a lot further that way.”

Steve paused for a moment, actually considering that. ”You know… that’s not a half bad idea.”

Tony blinked at him. ”Are you— Cap I was kidding.”

But Steve was not.

They hiked much faster after that. Steve easily carried his pack in one hand, helping to hold Tony up with the other. It was an awkward situation at first, figuring out how exactly to keep both of their packs since Steve had to remove his to let Tony climb onto his back. But once they got situated and started moving, it proved to be an easy feat.

Tony was strangely quiet for most of the trip, occasionally giving directions as he looked at his compass. Steve estimated their travel time was easily cut in half, and he wasn't lagging at all with the extra weight. At the rate they were going, they might even find the clearing and the end of this little test faster than the others.

And then, he heard something to his left, a sound he’d heard too many times before. Poor Tony took a nose dive into the dirt as Steve couldn't hold onto him and dodge the bullet that nearly struck him in the shoulder. 

"What the hell, Rogers?" he said, but Steve wasn't listening. 

Holding his pack like his shield, he scrambled to cover Tony’s exposed body with his own. ”Keep down and hush. It appears there are a few traps in these woods.”

Tony, turned his head a bit to the side. ”What? I didn't see anything. Tell me you aren't doing this to mess with me Steve.”

Steve held him down, despite Tony trying twice to get up. ”Gunshot, muffled like a silencer. It zipped right past me. Did Fury say anything about traps?”

"No… just that we weren't supposed to cheat. Maybe carrying me is his definition of cheating."

Steve frowned. “Seems a rather silly idea of cheating, when you consider Thor can fly and Hulk can run faster than I can, not to mention leap everywhere.”

"Yeah, and I’d love to see him try firing a bullet at the Hulk if he decides he wants to cheat."

Steve chuckled and finally sat up, letting Tony brush leaves and other debris off his clothing. ”Sorry about that.”

"It’s all right," Tony said with a shrug as he ran both hands through his hair, "I’d rather be eating forest floor than shot in the ribs or something."

They got back to their feet and shouldered their packs again. Steve stood stock still for another moment, glancing around at the surrounding foliage. If someone was there with a gun, their chances of finding them were pretty slim. 

"Well, guess we’ll just have to go at your pace then, Sta—"

He heard it again, but this time much closer, and even as he turned he knew he wasn’t fast enough to dodge it completely. It stung, white hot as it tore into the muscle of his shoulder. He didn’t even stop to think about what he was doing, reaching over to snag Tony, pack and all, and throw him over his good shoulder, racing through the dense foliage. 

Tony just hung on tight. ”What are you do—” he cut off as another blast whistled past them, and then another. ”Aw shit, what the hell!”

Steve kept running long after the last shot whistled past them. He found the stream and followed it, not even worrying about which direction they were actually heading in. It was just easier to race along dirt and rocks and debris than through the dense foliage of the forest floor. 

"Steve…" Tony said, "Steve, stop. Put me down. I think we got away from them."

It was all he could do not to collapse. He stopped at the edge of the stream and gently let Tony go. Only then did he realize why Tony wanted him to stop. The right side of his shirt was soaked with blood, drying already. ”I hope Fury’s got a damn good explanation for this.”

"Yeah, I’m sure he does, team building right?" Tony rolled his eyes. "Sit down. We have to get that bullet out of you."

"My body heals fast, Tony—" He was stopped by a hand griping his very wounded shoulder and hissed in pain. 

"Sit," Tony ordered.

Wordlessly, Steve obeyed.

"I am not a surgeon, but I know a little bit about… this kind of thing," he said as he rifled through his pack. "I can at least get the bullet out. Unless it’s like… really determined to stay in you. And I don’t have to like, make some kind of arc reactor for you. We might be in trouble then, I don’t have the gear for that here."

"It can probably wait, Tony."

"No, I’m not the patient sort."

It took a good hour before finally Tony had managed to use the gear in the first aid kit, plus some tools he’d brought along just in case, to work the bullet free from Steve’s shoulder. He stared at it for a moment between his fingers and shook his head. ”Doctors must love you. You didn't even scream once.”

Not that Steve hadn't felt it, and bitten a small hole in the side of his cheek. He breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally done, and glanced up toward the sky. ”We better set up camp for the night.”

Tony patted his good shoulder. ”I think I’ll do that on my own. How about you just stay here and rest. Find the protein bars if you want to, doubt either of us wants to cook anything.”

He was right about that. For once.

Tony managed to set their tent up on his own, and had even smoothed out Steve’s bedroll for him to climb into. They ate the protein bars and drank bottled water in silence. Steve hadn't felt exhaustion for a long time, but it crept up on him. With the right shoulder injured, he had to lay on the left, which left him facing Tony this time. 

"I wonder how the others are doing," he said as he reached for the lantern.

"Hopefully better than we are," Steve sighed. And he was asleep almost as fast as the light went out.

(To be continued...)


End file.
